Well, here in the Blue Ridge Mountains of western Virginia, we have been dealing with 7" of snow with 1/2" of ice on top. I have been driving the XC on every king of snow, slush, ice combination on steep grades and I have been very impressed with the car's traction. The car has new Michelin Energy MXV4 Plus tires which probably helps too. Even on glare ice, with a 20% grade, the XC never hesitated to climb the ice.

I hava had lots of 4WD vehicles (Jeep, Ford, Subaru), but the XC has handled the slick roads better. The AWD in this vechicle is well worth the extra $$ for my driving situation. FWD would have left me stranded on many occassions this week!

Merry Christmas!
Kenneth

Got to love the AWD. Try adding 60 hp to it, lot's of fun!

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98 R Wagon, all kinds of goodies 94 854 Sedan some goodies 92 740 Rag Wag

It is nice to see someone agree with me. FWD with snow tires has no where near the drivability in snow as does AWD, even with all season tires. I have three AWD vehicles, two Subarus and my '98 V70. They all have all season tires and I go around many FWD cars in snow and ice regularly. Good luck.

Doug,

Thanks for your comments.

Just curious....which Subarus do you have? The only car I seriously considered other than the used XC was a new 3.0 6 cylinder Outback. I drove one (on dry roads) and was impressed with the Subaru, but not enough to spend $10,000 additional for the Outback over the Volvo. So far, I love the XC. Formerly I have had Volvo 164, 850 sedan, S70 sedan and a bunch of Saabs, so I knew all about the potential reliability and maintenance issues.

Kenneth

I have a '99 SUS Limited and a '95 Impreza L wagon.

I dont know, but if it was me driving in those conditions I would have a set of four dedicated snow tires/wheels that would be taken off the car at the first sign of spring.
Also.....just remember to take care of the AWD like it is a AWD Volvo.....watch the OD of the tires should you ever need to replace one.
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Steve F. in Hoboken, NJ

The reason that the volvo handles so well is because it is about 95% frt wheel drive, but as the front tires begin to slip, the power is transfered to the rear. I own a 00 xc, and its incredibly handy.

Steve,

Thanks for your comments. I am aware of the need to change all four tires to maintain similar circumference. I just bought 4 new Michelins (all season), and they have done great in the snow and ice. I used a dedicated set of snow tires and wheels on Saabs in northern Illinois when I lived there, but it was hard to justify the additional expense and headache of constantly changing.